Stonewrought Loot System

The guild’s progression raiding has been using the ‘Suicide Kings’ loot distribution system since Siege of Orgrimmar and we have used it in the past too.

Stonewrought currently operate the KonferSK Suicide Kings addon which is used to allocate everyone on the raiding roster a spot on a numbered master list. Each new raider who joins the team is added to the bottom of that master list.

Each raid night, the selected team is taken from the master list to create an active list sorted in numerical order corresponding to their positions within the master list. When a piece of loot drops, the master looter will offer an item up to the raid team and whoever wants it may whisper the word ‘bid’ to the master looter.

From the bidding raiders, the one who is nearest top of the current active list will receive the item and immediately drop to the bottom of the current active list.
*Note this raid list is not the master, just the active which got pulled out of the master for that evening’s raiding and the final order from that raid night will slot back into the master list without disturbing any unused raiders in the master.*
Raiders may use their bids to claim any item that is put up for grabs by the master looter, even if the item is offspec. The reason this is acceptable is because of the consequences of taking the item. If a player is happy to drop to the bottom of the list for an item they have no intention of using then it’s their own problem and the next item that drops will likely be out of their reach.

Likewise if a raider wants to sit atop the list feeling comfortable that he will get first option on anything that drops only serves to benefit the rest of the team who can gather upgrades the number 1 raider is passing on.

This may appear to be a strange situation which requires further meddling but in my opinion a mental note by the raid leader about which players are acting in a way which doesn’t benefit the team on a regular basis. If the raid leader feels the player is deliberately trying to hold others back and gimping himself in the process then that player’s team commitment could come into consideration. By the rules of the loot system tho, there is no other need for governance and it’s is entirely possible a player may well simply only need 1 special item so he has every right to sit there and wait for it, if it ever drops.

We also have a way to minimise the frequency of gear being disenchanted because people may be afraid to lose their spot high on the list due to a minor upgrade. We implemented a /roll system to run parallel with the bids. If nobody bids on an item then anyone who /rolls on the item can win it. A suicide ‘bid’ always trumps any /roll but if you could use an item maybe as a minor upgrade or for an offspec then you may /bid alongside anyone else in the same situation. Highest wins of course, assuming there were no favoured suicide bids.

I think we need to consider a check for our raiders who do /roll on items because the nature of the /roll means that there are no consequences for winning it. Literally anyone could /roll to take an item and possibly have only interest in it’s vendor value. We must ensure the /roll item is usable on the character either on main spec or even offspec.

This brings me to ‘Bind on Equip’ items. Idioms and I have discussed using these BoE items only to either gear up the currently raiding team (not their alts) or to be used to help generate gold for the fast approaching 6th Anniversary this July. The proposal is that BoEs if not required as an upgrade on the night then they will go to the guild bank where they will be held on the bottom row of the Grand Slam (deposit) tab and offered at a 50% discount of it’s market value on a first come, first served auction basis.

This plan has been discussed and agreed by the guild bank management team who will help orchestrate the system. Any officer has access to Grand Slam tab but primarily offers to purchase the items should be made directly to Shethehunter or Poca where possible, and if they are unavailable then Idioms or myself.

I initially thought requests for items through in-game mail may be a good option but on consideration, it’s possible 2 different players could bid to 2 different officers for the same item therefore selecting who came first might prove controversial. I think it might be best to keep it simple and only allow items to be bought when the officer is online to ensure fairness.

Prices will be published at first using the guild Message of the Day and we will see how that goes before adjusting the publication of items/prices as required.

A good video illustrating the ‘Suicide Kings’ loot system can be found by clicking this link.

/Salute